The hardware is all here, it took me a while to take and upload the photos, but now everything is ready.

This update will be a kind of unboxing of the whole configuration; I've never had the occasion to open up new hardware boxes, so, maybe, I have taken too many pictures, but I'd like to show everything because, to me, it was an exciting moment!

Here's everything I will be assembling.



I started off with the smaller packages, leaving the most nutritious ones last


SSD Kingston SSDNOW v300 60GB

base model, up to 450MB/s in sequential reading and writing. It looks perfect to me, seeing the slowness at which I'm used to!



Unboxed the box, here's the content:
Manual, an adhesive thickener so it may have the same height as a 2.5" HDD, and the SSD.








RAM Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB (4x4GB) 1600MHz

Classical Corsair RAM memories,Vengeance series, low profile, 1600MHz and CL 9.



Nice "doored" box!



Here's the content of the package:
Warranty, cardboard to keep them locked in place, and individually packed RAMs.






CPU AMD FX-8350 8-core 4GHz 16MB cache socket AM3+

I read very well about this processor, perfect quality/price ratio, I hope it behaves well!





Package content:
Installation manual, Cooler Master branded 4 heatpiped heatsink, and CPu plus a sticker.














Video card Sapphire AMD Radeon HD7950 3GB GDDR5

I always liked Sapphires and I had no problems with them, so, why not getting another Sapphire?





Content:
Manual and various information, drivers CD, packaging material, Molex-PCI-e power adapters, and the video card.



Long about 28 cms, as you can see.








Power supply Antec CP-1000 80+

I perfectly acknowledge the fact that 1000W are an exaggeration for my actual system, but I got it thanks to an offer, for that price, I could not get something better. Reviewers say good things about it, and so I have a lot of room for future upgrades.



Content:
Packaging material, manual, cables, and PSU.







This creature is simply massive. CPX format, proprietary Antec format to fit 3 of their cases. Or any other case big enough and available for cutting to fit it in.

How big is it? The fan measures 120mm, it weighs 3.2 kilograms, it's 17cms wide and 20cms long.
Here it is next to a standard ATX format PSU.






And now, the piece I most expected, the...

Motherboard Asus Sabertooth 990FX R2.0

Amazing motherboard, The Ultimate Forse series from amazing Asus! Too many details to write here, the post is already long.
AM3+ socket, 8+2 phases, Quad-SLI/Quad-CrossFireX support, front panel USB 3.0 connector, 8 total SATA ports, CeraM!X heatsinks coating, I think it brews ale, UEFI BIOS, Thermal Radar, PCI and PCI-ex1 connectors, a load of back panel connector, including 4 USB 3.0 and 2 eSATA ports, 4 chassis fan connectors + 2 CPU fan connectors, a whole lot of other stuff I will probably never use, everything accompained by military standards and a 5 year warranty!

What else would you like?

The screws to mount it, because they are not included.







Content:
Manuals, warranty, various information, a TUF sticker, drivers and software CD (including CPU-Z TUF Edition!), military standard certification, 4 SATA cables (2 straight and two 90° connectors, thanks Asus!), back panel shield, SLI bridge, quick USB and front panel connectors, and the motherboard.



















Here you can notice the irregular surface of the ceramic coating.





It's a beauty. The scent that came out of the box was extasizing, I took my time admiring every detail and, before going to sleep, I read some of the manual, which feels like a novel.

In the next post, the temporary installation! I couldn't leave everything sitting there, the components were craving to be installed!

Holy cow, PSU is so big!

The mainboard is good and with a great cooler you will be able to push that FX!

Thx for posting

Quote:

Infact, I have to cut a big window in the case to be able to fit it in!

For now, I won't overclock, I am more than satisfied with stock speed
I still have to learn a lot about overclocking before actually trying it!

Unboxing a lot of hardware is always a great experience. I still remember when I built the first PC for a friend.

Quote:

The smell of new hardware is so unique, I won't forget it

As I already said, I couldn't leave everything laying there, I had to assemble it somehow!

I recovered an old computer, it was under the rain for days, the hardware was obsolete, and the plastics and the panels were destroyed; I only kept the frame.

(I took the picture in a hurry, it's not even focused...)


The amazing thing about this case, that infact convinced me to keep the frame, is that its bays are modular.
5.25" and top 3.5" bays can be extracted much like a drawer, while the HDDs bay can be pulled outwards laterally.

As I was already in the mood, I painted the DVD writer and the card reader black.





Once the case has been cleaned, the assembling shall begin!



First thing, back panel installation.



Now it's time for the motherboard, I won't tell you about the anxiety I had trying not to scratch it and to fit it in the right place



Perfect!



CPU installation, with added worries about the pins and correct orientation.



And heatsink installation, much easier than the 775 Intel socket I was used to.



Ram installation, on one side, the module just snaps in, on the other, there is the classical lever.



DVD unit and HDD installation. In the picture, there are 2 HDDs, I then remembered I forgot about the SSD...




Video card. I had to cut a little metal part which didn't allow the installation of double-slot cards, nothing to worry about.





A fan just because I like them.



I was forgetting about the front panel, so i recovered one from an old PC, they are just a couple of momentary switches and a couple of LEDs. Simplified connector, very practical solution.



Great! Inside the case, everything is in place. I say inside of it, because the PSU can't fit inside.
There is only one solution, I hope cable management fans' eyes won't catch on fire.





Completed temporary desk!



I also installed a front audio panel, as I use headphones and the cable is not long enough.



Powering test, and...
Perfect! Great relieving.
I had never seen such a BIOS, I am used to classical blue and white ones



I ran some tests, everything works as expected.


The day after building everything, the postman brought a pack with him, in which there were...



...20 meters of green LEDs! The stock will last a while, and it will "green up" half of the house
I love green, just in case you didn't get it





I couldn't avoid to test some in the case! I cut a 25cms (15 LEDs) strip, and I sticked it on the horizontal support. I linked the pre-soldered cables to an old cut Molex.





I think they are astonishing, the green is much more full and intese than how the pictures show it.
Completely satisfied!

See you next update!

I'm finally back with a new update!

With a Dremel (thanks a lot, Luca!) it's a lot easier to work.

I took various measurementes and marked where to cut for the fan vents.









I also marked where to cut for the PSU to fit in, It's a big beast!



Screwholes test.





Perfect match!

Anterior fans now.





And here the holes are precise enough as well.

Let's start cutting now

here's the Dremel...





... and the safety equipment.



After a fair amount of time, a lot of powedered metal, and a lot of blades later, here's the partial result on the back panel (I didn't take many picutres of the cuts because I was too focused and I forgot about it... and they are just cuts, I mean, not much to see!)





Being this the first time I handled a Dremel, I feel like I got it all right, or it is simply very easy to use.

Some finishing...





... and the back is complete!





Now let's cut the front panel:





Cut and filed! It looks much better than the pictures show.




I needed some fan guards, but I don't have any 80mm ones.

A wire mesh would be good, but, where to find it? Bike basket!





Easy to cut with a pair of scissors:





They are kind of difficult to mount, the basket was curved, and so is the mesh. I'll have to use a bench vise and some strength to straighten it.

Here's how they look so far, I'll remake them:





That's all for this update, in the next one, more cuts! For cable management, this time

Ok, I have a problem.

I did not expect it, but I reached the maximum bandwidth PhotoBucket allows me to have! The mod is more popular than I thought it would be on this and other forums.

I have resized and reuploaded all the pictures, as well as editing every single post relinking the images, but the bandwidth will reset at the start of next month

This means I can't make updates, and you can't see the pictures unless you click on them (I think), which is way too time consuming if you don't have a lightning fast connection.

That said, I'm sorry but I wasn't expecting this, it should be all good with the new file sizes in 10 days.
I hope you understand and wait patiently, in the meanwhile, I have time to work

To the new readers, if you ever get to this comment before closing the forum saying "No images? Eh.", check back on February 1st, it should all be back online!

See you soon!


FIXED!

A very short update to let you know I'm still alive and working!

The motherboard tray is quite distant from the panel, so there's enough room to fit the cables underneath it.
The problem is to find a way to fit them there, because the bent borders close every way.

Test with an old motherboard to plan where to cut.



These are the indications for the holes. Please notice the supreme craftsmanship related to the use of editing softwares.



First cuts for USB ports, front panel and front audio cables.



Notches around the border to make a way in for the cables and a way out for the motherboard power cables.



The CPU cable notch was a bit more difficult, because it was blocked by a metal part which supports the tray, so I had to cut another window.



(The case is flipped over, the hole is in the upper part)





I filed and everything is smooth, after the paintjob, I will evaluate if they need to be covered.

Now I'm working on making the front of the case look good, it's a hard job because I have to think of many ideas and try them to see how they fit, to finally find the definitive solution.

Stay tuned

really nice work, well done!